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The 6'10" center will be part of the rebuilding project at the Cardinals under new head coach Chris Mack after the college's basketball operation was the subject of an FBI investigation into illegal payments to college players.

The investigation led to the firing of then head coach Rick Pitino and the expunging of the college's record from 2011-2015 - including their 2013 National Championship title.

'The Irish Hulk' explained his decision to commit to Louisville to 247 Sports, saying: "It’s one thing to be wanted and another thing to be needed and I kind of felt like I was needed when I went on my visit.

"Coach Mack showed me the roster and the blueprint he had setup.

"When I went on my official the city embraced me and they kind of like exploded the second I was there.

"My other officials were nice but the Louisville visit was crazy. Fans everywhere going crazy and with the basketball team it’s just the beginning.

"The ability of them to develop players, their staff is well-equipped to develop a player such as myself.

"Coach Mack has been recruiting me since he was at Xavier and I saw what he did with that program. He turned them into a yop 10 program in the country, competing in the NCAA Tournament.

"Now that he has the job at Louisville, historically with his programs, it’s just great to see what he can do in the future when he’s getting five stars and four stars and stuff like that. I see what he has been doing with Xavier players, turning them into pros or close to it."